Councils' Four-Day Experiments Labeled as Collapse Signals
Steve Reed's warning risks intervention in 25 debating authorities
Labour secretary Steve Reed flags four-day weeks as failure indicators for English councils, overriding local trials amid productivity crisis. Central control persists across parties as bankruptcies mount.
Commentary Based On
the Guardian
Four-day week may be considered a sign of failure, England councils told
Steve Reed warns all English councils that staff on four-day weeks delivering part-time work for full-time pay signals potential failure.
This risks government intervention and takeover powers.
South Cambridgeshire district council already adopted the model, prompting a direct rebuke from Reed over slipping rent collection and repair performance.
Twenty-five other councils have debated the policy.
Proponents cite UK full-time workers logging Europe’s longest hours yet producing middling output.
Reed’s letter invokes “best value” guidance, originally issued by Conservatives in 2024 and now under Labour update.
The rule flags “part-time work for full-time pay without compelling justification” as one failure indicator among many.
South Cambridgeshire’s Liberal Democrat leader calls her authority “exceptionally high performing,” despite the cited metrics dip.
Central Override Trumps Local Trial
Councils set their own staff policies, but central government holds intervention levers for deemed failures.
This setup dates to 2000s legislation, applied sporadically across parties.
Labour’s move echoes Tory-era controls, prioritizing uniformity over experiments amid council bankruptcies.
Financial distress already claims councils like Birmingham and Nottingham.
Reed previously singled out South Cambridgeshire’s policy for performance harm.
Productivity Paradox Exposed
UK public sector output per hour lags private sector by 15-20% since 1997, per ONS data.
Councils face 40% real-terms funding cuts since 2010, squeezing services.
Four-day trials elsewhere cut sickness by 65% and boosted private productivity 1.4% in pilots.
Yet Reed rejects them absent “compelling justification.”
British workers average 1,497 hours yearly, outpacing Germany by 12% but yielding less GDP per hour.
Recurring Grip on Local Power
Past interventions targeted Labour-run authorities under Tories, like Doncaster in 2010.
Labour now eyes Lib Dem South Cambridgeshire.
The pattern spans governments: central state expands control as local bodies weaken.
Best value inspections, dormant since 2010, revive under Labour.
No new guidance yet details enforcement thresholds.
Incentives Skewed Toward Inertia
Council leaders chase efficiencies to stem £20 billion collective deficits.
Shorter weeks promise retention gains; quits hit 15% annually in local government.
Central veto preserves full-time norms, ignoring evidence from 100-firm UK trials.
Taxpayers fund the standoff: higher costs from turnover, lower service delivery.
Officials face no personal risk for blocking innovation.
Rejection entrenches low-output stasis.
This episode unmasks governance rigidity.
Local experiments meet swift central clampdown, regardless of ruling party.
England’s councils drift toward insolvency under uniform failure metrics that stifle adaptation.
Power concentrates in Whitehall as productivity erodes and services fray.
Commentary based on Four-day week may be considered a sign of failure, England councils told by Jamie Grierson on the Guardian.